​

Hello Reader,

Have you ever met somebody you felt instantly was a kindred spirit? That happened to us Monday night while grabbing dinner at a Chick-fil-A in Florida. A man and his son spotted our family praying over our meal and sat down across from us before praying over theirs.

Soon he struck up a conversation, and we quickly discovered that--despite the fact we had only a couple of them in tow at the time--both our families have twelve children. We also have mutual friends. And have attended the same family camp a few times in the past.

Before we left, he invited us to have dinner with his family the following night, which we gladly did and immediately hit it off with the rest of the clan.

It's wonderful when things work out this way, but sometimes the opposite is true: Sometimes you meet folks who butt heads with you from the very beginning. You know what I mean?

Just in case you do, this week's link list is all about relating to the difficult people that populate our lives. I hope you'll learn some helpful tips for dealing with yours.

Free resources for you this week:

• ​Praying for Your Enemies - a free printable prayer guide rooted in scripture
• ​Getting Along with Difficult In-Laws - these tips also work with difficult bosses & coworkers
• ​How to Deal with Negativism - ideas for viewing criticism from a healthier perspective
• ​25 Ways to Disagree with Dignity - for conversing with folks who don't see eye-to-eye w/you
• ​Love Your Enemies Coloring Page - a coloring page based on Luke 6:27-28

What we're reading this week:

We've been listening to Brant Hansen's recently updated Unoffendable on the road. It's all about giving up your "right" to take offense. He notes what peace and freedom come when we don't let ourselves remain angry all the time.

And he shows how even so-called "righteous anger" is not necessary to address the evils we see in the world and make changes for the good, but instead often serves to make us feel like we're doing something good when we aren't.

Progress on last week's goals:

I finished ✅ putting away the Christmas decor, ✅ finished the itinerary for this week's trip, and ✅ finished memorizing James 1. But I haven't ❌ finished all my preparations for our upcoming mother-daughter retreat.

My personal goals for this week:

• Prepare talk for this weekend's retreat
• Finish making Christmas stocking for our newest grandbaby
• Solidify James 2 in my memory
• Enjoy the rest of our vacation

Another poll for you today:

I heard from way more tea drinkers than coffee drinkers last week, which was a little surprising to me.

This week's question: How long would you want to know someone before inviting them home for dinner? Five weeks? Five days? Five minutes? Hit reply and let me know!